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Business|Why 7-Eleven and Convenience Stores in Japan Are So Special
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/09/business/7-eleven-japan-convenience-stores.html
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Convenience stores are a fixture of Japanese life, and 7-Eleven is the country’s dominant chain. They are a place to shop, pay bills and gather during disasters.
Sept. 9, 2025, 12:00 a.m. ET
In Japan, 7-Eleven and its competitors are more than a place to buy a six-pack or pick up a pint of milk. Every day, millions of residents shop for food, send packages and pay their bills at over 55,000 convenience stores in the country.
Japan is a magnet for tourists, and convenience stores are often a highlight of a trip. Thousands of people have posted TikTok videos showing off their Japanese convenience store purchases. One of those videos, by the singer Sabrina Carpenter when she visited Japan on tour in 2023, has received over 600,000 likes.
There are many other convenience store chains in Japan, including FamilyMart and Lawson, but 7-Eleven is the largest and most recognizable. It has nearly 22,000 stores in all 47 prefectures.
But 7-Eleven’s biggest growth is likely to come outside Japan. Seven & i Holdings, the company that operates the chain, plans to invest $13.6 billion in 7-Eleven’s global expansion in the next few years, focusing primarily on North America.
Here is what you need to know about 7-Eleven and Japan’s convenience store phenomenon.
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What is 7-Eleven’s history?
It began in 1927 as an American convenience store chain, operated by Southland Corporation, in Dallas. It opened its first store in Japan in 1974 in the Toyosu neighborhood in eastern Tokyo, featuring popular American items like hamburgers. Within two years, it had expanded to 100 stores.
